Group III-VI family MX (M = Ga and In, and X = S, Se, and Te) monolayers have attracted global interest for their potential applications in electronic devices due to their unexpectedly high carrier mobility. Herein, via density functional theory calculations as well as ab initio quantum transport simulations, we investigated the performance limits of MX monolayer metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) at the sub-10 nm scale. Our results highlighted that the MX monolayers possessed good structural stability and mechanical isotropy with large ultimate strains and low Young's modulus, which are intensely anticipated in the next-generation flexible devices. More importantly, the MX monolayer MOSFETs show excellent device performance under optimal schemes. The on-state current, delay time, and power dissipation of the MX monolayer MOSFETs satisfy the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) 2013 requirements for high-performance devices. https://www.selleckchem.com/GSK-3.html Interestingly, the sub-threshold swings were in a very low range from 68 mV dec-1 to 108 mV dec-1, which indicated the favorable gate control ability for fast switching. Therefore, we believe that our findings shed light on the design and application of MX monolayer-based MOSFETs in next-generation flexible electronic devices.Carbonic anhydrases (CAs, E.C. 4.2.1.1) are metalloenzymes expressed on a variety of cell types. Their overexpression leads to serious pathologies, including cancer. The discovery of a series of selenolesters with high structural diversity as novel CA inhibitors is reported here. These compounds show remarkable in vitro inhibition against a panel of human CA isoforms such as hCA I, II, IX and XII. We observed that they undergo a CA mediated hydrolysis, releasing different active selenol fragments, which act as CA inhibitors. Notably, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of an enzyme with selenolesterase activity. In addition, X-ray crystallographic data support the proposed mechanism, proving selenolesters as novel pro-drug inhibitors with potential pharmacological applications.Exploring ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) solid electrolytes with fast ion transport is highly desirable in nanoelectronics, ionic devices and various energy storage systems, following the rapid scaling of devices to the nanometer scale. Herein, two-dimensional (2D) metal trihalides MX3 (ScCl3, ScBr3, AsI3, ScI3, YBr3, SbI3, YI3 and BiI3) with intrinsic atomic pore structures have been examined and found to be promising as realistic 2D solid electrolytes. Through examining the binding interactions and the diffusion barriers of monolayer MX3-ion (Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+) systems by utilizing first principles calculations, it is found that MX3-ion complexes are energetically favorable and the energy barriers of some MX3-ion systems are comparable to or even smaller than those of the conventional solid electrolyte systems. More significantly, the short diffusion time of Na+ and K+ ions in some monolayers MX3 at the nanosecond (ns) or even at the sub-ns scale indicates fast ion transport. In terms of practical applications, ultrafast Li+ travelling in the timescale of sub-ns to ns and Na+ in several tens ns in few-layer MX3 is achieved. In addition, the insulating nature of wide band gaps for MX3 is maintained during the ion transport, which is essential for solid electrolytes. These theoretical results provide fundamental guidance that MX3 materials with natural atomic pores are realistic candidates for 2D solid electrolytes with broad applications in ionic devices and energy storage devices.A hybrid material made of mononuclear organophosphorus polypyridyl ruthenium complexes covalently bonded to ruthenium nanoparticles has been synthesized via a one-pot organometallic procedure and finely characterized. These results open new avenues to access unique hybrid transition metal nanomaterials.A new FRET probe has been prepared for ratiometric fluorescence detection of hydroxyl radicals. It has been successfully used for detecting mitochondria-localized drug activation in living cells and imaging endogenous hydroxyl radicals in zebrafish gastrointestinal (GI) tracts under normal culturing conditions.Ultrasensitive detection of nonlabelled bovine serum albumin is performed in micro/nanofluidic chips using a photothermal optical phase shift (POPS) detection system. Currently, micro- and nanofluidics allow the analysis of various single cells, and their targets of interest are shifting from nucleic acids to proteins. Previously, our group developed photothermal detection techniques for the sensitive detection of nonfluorescent molecules. For example, we developed a thermal lens microscope (TLM) with ultrahigh sensitivity at the single-molecule level and a POPS detector that is applicable to nanochannels smaller than the wavelength of light. The POPS detector also realized the detection of nonlabelled proteins in nanochannels, although its detection sensitivity is less than that of the TLM in microchannels due to insufficient background light reduction. To overcome this problem, we developed a new POPS detector using relay optics for further reduction of the background light. In addition, heat transfer from the sample solution to the nanochannel wall was thoroughly investigated to achieve ultrahigh sensitivity. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained with the new POPS detector is 30 molecules in 1.0 fL. Considering this LOD, the performance of the new POPS detector is comparable with that of the TLM. Owing to the applicability of the POPS detector for sensitive detection even in nanochannels or single-μm channels, which cannot be realized with the TLM, combinations of the POPS detector and separation techniques employing unique nanochannel properties will contribute to advances in single-cell proteomics in the future.Sortase is one of the most widely used enzymes for covalent protein conjugation that links protein and protein/small molecules together in a site-specific way. It typically recognizes the "GGG" and "LPXTG" peptide sequences and conjugates them into an "LPXTGGG" linker. As a non-natural linker with several flexible glycine residues, it is unknown whether it affects the properties of the conjugated protein. To verify the use of sortase for protein-protein conjugation, we combined single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to characterize sortase-conjugated polyprotein I27 with three different linkers. We found that the I27 with classic linkers "LPETGGG" and "LPETG" from sortase ligation were of normal stability. However, a protein with a longer artificial linker "LPETGGGG" showed a 15% lower unfolding force. MD simulations revealed that the 4G linker showed a high probability of a closed conformation, in which the adjacent monomer has transient protein-protein interaction.